Reversed Roles
by Lolsome-o-sis girl
Summary: Imagine the situation was reversed. Imagine Maddy was a wild Wolfblood, and Rhydian was tame. What would happen then? How would their story be different? Disclaimer, I own nothing. This idea would not leave me alone, so I typed it up :) Please enjoy
1. Lone Wolf - Part One

**Reversed Roles.**

Rhydian Morris stumbled down the stairs, blinking sleepily against the paper white light that was falling through the kitchen windows. Dammit, he really shouldn't have gone to bed at stupid-o'clock last...

"What's up with you?" Bryn, his eight year old brother, was already seated at the table, a bowl of Wheetos in front of him.

"I probably should've given that movie marathon a miss..." Rhydian muttered, collapsing into a chair beside his younger sibling, grabbing a handful of cereal as he did so.

"Mum will eat you for being up so late, you know."

"She'll have to get out of the cellar first."

"Basement," Bryn corrected him through a mouthful of cereal.

"Whatever." Rhydian scowled at the thought of the wolf-fitted space in the basement. The one in which he would soon be transforming. Next full moon, at that. In some ways, he was dreading in. Rhydian was a free spirit, one that could not be contained; being locked up in "The Den" - as it was nicknamed in the Morris household - didn't sound like a pleasing idea to him.

"You'd better go let her out," Bryn said suddenly. "You know what Mum's like after a full moon."

"Straight for the coffee machine," Rhydian smirked, padding across the room, and down the small flight of stairs that led to the basement.

Unlocking the iron gate, he was immediately faced with Ceri, who was struggling up from the floor.

"Honestly." Rhydian rolled his eyes theatrically. "You're making out like you've just been shot, Mum. And, pray tell, what were you doing sneaking around the bins last night?"

"Rhydian, son, you don't understand how powerful the pull of the moon is," Ceri replied in her Welsh lilt, before folding her arms across her chest. "And, what were you even doing up at that time in the first place? I thought we agreed on half ten for school nights, young man?"

Rhydian shifted. "I was just on my way up!"

"That's a lie, mister, and you know it." Ceri pecked her son on the cheek affectionately. "What am I going to do with you?"

"Let me have the day off school to sleep?" Rhydian asked hopefully.

"Nice try, Rhydian."

"Dammit."

* * *

Maddy Smith slumped over at the table, drooping over a plate of toast and jam. The Chases, her new foster parents, had gone to work hours before Maddy had surfaced from her uneasy night's sleep in the woods. She wasn't used to small, wooded villages like Stoneybridge, despite having been born in the next town over (her thick accent had stuck with her to prove it.) However, her last homes had been in London, where she had transformed for the first time. She shuddered at the memory - It was something she was desperate to forget.

Glancing up at the clock, she saw that she had an hour left to get to school, and she pushed her chair back from the table, cringing at the sound it made as it scraped against the linoleum of the Chases' kitchen floor. Maddy didn't need to leave for ages yet - she could get there in ten minutes, at the most - but, she couldn't stay in the house for that amount of time. She had only been inside for a few hours in total, but, already, the four walls of the guest room assigned to her were driving her insane. She needed to be out in the open.

Grabbing her bag, she checked her flustered, weary appearance in the hallway mirror. Curved, dark eyebrows were lodged in a worried line over a pair of tired hazel eyes. Long, fine strands of dark brown hair fell to just below her shoulders, framing a heart shaped face, with child-like roundness in her cheeks.

Maddy let out a sigh, and the mirror girl's shoulders heaved up and down, mimicking the real girl, who just shook her head and sprinted out of the door, slamming it shut behind her.

* * *

"Hey, mate!" Tom and Rhydian hi-fived as they met by the school gates. "Glad you're here. I needed someone else to balance out Shannon's level of geekness."

"Ugh!" Shannon looked up briefly from the screen of her digital camera, elbowing Tom, scoffing. "Thanks a lot, Tom! Nice to know that you think so highly of me!"

"I can't help it if it's true!"

Rhydian chuckled at his best friends' bickering, as they cross the school grounds at the sound of the school bell ringing. Tom and Shannon had been the only ones willing to speak to him when he'd arrived in Stoneybridge seven years ago. Since then, they had always stuck together as a threesome, which suited everyone else just fine. Especially Rhydian.

"Hey!" Tom said suddenly. "Check it out!"

"What?" Shannon dragged her intense focus away from her technology.

"New kid."

* * *

Maddy slowed to a dawdle, as she reached the school gates, clenching her fists nervously. She had been to many schools around England, and all of them had ended badly. She'd get picked on because of the way she spoke, her accent, and it would get to a point where she couldn't control her wolf-self. She'd end up almost transforming in front of everyone - or "Wolfing out", as she called it - which resulted in her running away, and then being relocated.

Above everything else, however, Maddy missed her parents. The kind, wonderful couple that had been killed when she was two years old. She'd been there, hiding behind a tree the whole time, witnessing the entire thing; even after thirteen years, she still remembered it vividly and clearly, even as other memories faded and blurred. She may have only been a child, but, even at that age, she'd known that she had to run away. And, run she did. She ran far, far away to the nearest village, where she'd been found from social services, and deemed "abandoned"...

Snapping out of her daydream, she scrubbed away a tear that had found its way onto her cheek, checked over her blue shirt and jeans - she didn't exactly own a uniform yet. The Chases weren't like that - and started across the school grounds, trying to keep her head held high.

"Hey!" She heard someone say close by her. "Check it out!"

"What?" Someone else - a girl - asked.

"New kid."

Maddy gritted her teeth and carried on her way, until it was suddenly blocked by a tall boy, with russet skin and short hair.

"Hi there!" He greeted eagerly. "You're new here, aren't you?"

"Yes," Maddy replied cooly. "Now, if you don't mind -"

"I'm Tom, by the way." He stuck out a hand.

"Maddy." Maddy's own hand stayed resolutely by her side. "And, I'm running late to form, so..." She didn't finish her sentence. Instead, she stepped round the boy called Tom and marched towards the nearest door, trying to ignore the whispers she could pick up with her extra-sensitive hearing.

"Next time, you two can be the ones to make friends with the weirdo new kid!"

* * *

Rhydian followed Tom and Shannon into the hallway. He wrinkled up his nose as he did so. There was a funny smell in the air, one that he couldn't quite place...

"I don't believe it!" Tom was saying. "Mr Jeffries is closing down photography club!"

"It's a vital part of school life!" Shannon agreed, looking outraged. "Isn't that right, Rhydian? Rhydian?"

"Hm?" The boy looked up, distracted. "Oh, yeah, yeah. Vital."

"You feeling okay, mate?" Tom asked.

"Yeah, yeah, 'course. Why wouldn't I be?"

"Err, because, usually, you're moaning about something," Shannon piped up.

"I do not!" Rhydian protested, as they entered Mr Jeffries' form room, and moved to their usual seats at the back of the room.

"Oh, you so do!" Shannon giggled, as the door burst open, and a flustered, short, dark haired girl rushed in, dropping paperwork as she did so, causing the entire room to fall silent and stare at her. A faint blush covered her cheeks, as she handed Mr Jeffries a slip of paper, which he instantly signed, murmuring to himself, as she narrowed her eyes coldly.

"Ah, yes...I see..." He tapped his pen on the desk twice, before gesturing to the girl beside him. "Everyone. This is Madeline Smith, who I'm guessing is here from..." He waved his arm around. "Wales, yes?"

"No," the girl snapped quietly, glaring at the floor. The rest of the room laughed, and Mr Jeffries waved them off.

"Okay, okay! Well, Madeline -"

"Maddy," she interrupted.

"Well, Maddy, I'm Mr Jeffries, your form tutor and head of year and geography teacher, so you will be seeing a lot of me over the next year."

"Great," Maddy replied, voice laced with sarcasm.

Rhydian sniffed the air as he watched her, before leaping out of his chair. That's what the strange smell was! It was the girl, Maddy. It was the familiar scent of a Wolfblood.

"You smell like my Mum!" He blurted out aloud, causing the entire form room to roar with laughter, and the blush on Maddy Smith's cheeks to deepen in colour, as she snatched her paperwork back from Mr Jeffries and shuffled to a seat on the other side of the room, away from Rhydian. However, as she passed him, she sent him a murderous look, baring her teeth into a growl, before slumping into her seat.

* * *

Maddy raced away as soon as the bell rang for her first class. _Physics. Oh, yippee._

She rolled her eyes to herself, as she bounded down the stairs, just as someone caught up with her and grabbed her arm, spinning her round. She found herself face to face with the blonde boy from her form group. The one who said she smelt. She grimaced. What the hell was his problem now? He looked furious.

"What are you doing here?" He demanded.

"What?" Maddy frowned, voice defensive. "I'm looking for the physics -"

"Not here. On our territory!" He snapped, lowering his voice so that passing students couldn't hear him. "Don't you know the rules?"

"I don't care whose territory this is!" Maddy snapped back, glaring. What mental age did this boy have, five years old? "And, I'm not sticking around anyway! Why would I, in this dump? And, by the way, just as a heads up..." She tried to give him the nastiest look she could muster, whilst wracking her brains for a suitable comeback. "No...No smelly boy tells me whether to stay or go!"

She turned on her heel and stalked away as fast as she could in public, leaving a furious (to put it mildly) looking blonde boy behind her.

_**A.N: I know, I know. I have loads of other fics to update (as in, I only have one finished and need to finish the other ten!), but, this came into my mind last week and would not leave me alone, so I wanted to get it down before I forgot about it.**_

_**Also, I just want to mention that, while Maddy knows that there are other Wolfbloods in the world, she doesn't know about packs or territories etc, so, that's the reason for that. If you have any comments, I would like to read them. :)**_


	2. Lone Wolf - Part Two

_**A.N: Hi, guys! WOW, so many people have reviewed/followed/favourited/read this story, and I can't say how happy that makes me feel! After all that, how can I not treat you lovelies to a second chapter? So, here it is!**_

* * *

Maddy surveyed the canteen in front of her, searching the room for an empty table, clutching her tray of vegetables that didn't look very appealing. In fact, they made he feel rather sick, but, she couldn't exactly go to the table with nothing, could she? She was trying to keep her head down here - anything strange could draw unwanted attention to herself.

Just as she spotted an empty seat on the other side of the room, she felt a hand clamp down on her shoulder. Fighting to keep a growl locked between her teeth, she spun around, coming face to face with the blonde boy from earlier. Internally, she groaned. What was his problem?!

"Look, we need to talk," he snapped. Maddy glared back.

"Look, I don't even know you! Can you stop stalking me and just leave me alone?!" Shaking him off roughly, she marched over to the empty table, slamming her tray down on the table so hard that the cutlery jangled at the impact. She sat in one of the vacant seats and folded her arms across her chest, huffing.

"Creep..." She mumbled under her breath, just as there was the scraping of chairs, and three girls appeared in front of her, the scent of chemicals wafting up her nose. She fought the urge to cringe.

"Hi there!" One of them said eagerly, leaning on the table. "I'm Kara. You must be Madeline."

"Maddy," she corrected.

"Whatever," Kara said carelessly. "This is Kay and Katrina. People call us the Three Ks."

"How nice," Maddy replied, uninterested.

"Anyway." Kay took over from her friend. "We're the people to come to if you have any questions."

"Yeah." Maddy said slowly. "I do have a question. That weird stalker boy, over there..." She pointed to where the blonde boy was sitting, along with Tom and a ginger girl. "Who's that?"

"What, Rhydian Morris?" Kara frowned.

"He's fit!" The blonde called Katrina said.

"More like he's a creep," Maddy muttered, as Kay answered her question.

"Rhydian Morris moved down here from New Forest, like, seven years ago. His great grandmother died, or something, and she left the family house to them."

"Them?"

"His mother, his younger brother, and him."

_So, he's a lucky one with a family?_ Maddy thought, anger filling her. _And, he thinks that he can tell me to push off, just because I have no one? What a self absorbed, little -!_

"Why are we talking about him, anyway?" Kay asked, cutting off Maddy's colourful inner thoughts.

"Because he's well fit!" Katrina said again, looking over her shoulder to gaze at the back of Rhydian's head. "He's talented...and kind...and rebellious...and dangerous..."

Maddy groaned, pushing her lunch away. All this talk of Rhydian Morris and how amazing he was had put her off her lunch. Standing, she left her seat and walked out of the room, only looking up to glare at Rhydian, who was staring at her as she passed his table.

* * *

"Err..." Shannon waved her hand in front of her friend's face. "Earth to Rhydian! Rhydian Morris!"

"Huh?" He finally looked away from Maddy Smith's retreating form, his attention back on the conversation going on in front of him. "What did you say?"

"God, you've been staring at that new girl all day!" Shannon rolled her eyes. "You don't fancy her, do you?"

"Rhydian fancies the new girl?" Tom almost choked on his flavoured water.

"What? No!" Rhydian protested, but neither of them were listening.

"Because he loves her,

He wants to hug her,

He wants to marry her -"

"Shut UP!" Rhydian threw a sprout across the table at his best friend.

"You're not denying it, mate," Tom pointed out. "You so fancy her."

"What? I do not - Oh, forget it." Rhydian shook his head. It was a battle he couldn't win, and all three of them knew it.

* * *

A pile of leaks tumbled onto the floor, as Maddy yanked her locker door open, just as the bell for afternoon class sounded down the corridor. She leapt back in surprise. This was NOT what she was expecting - all she wanted to do was leave her physics book in there.

"What the -?!" She yelped, as she heard laughing from beside her. Spinning on her heels, her fierce hazel eyes met a pair of brown ones. A boy with dark hair was lounging against the block of lockers, grinning.

"Packed enough lunch there, did you, Welsh Girl?"

"I'm not from Wales!" Maddy snapped, feeling her inner wolf start to claw its way to the surface. She took a slow breath, trying to keep calm.

"I don't care where you're from," the boy continued, smirking, as he began to walk away. "Why can't you just push off back to where you belong?"

Maddy gritted her teeth, a growl sliding from her mouth. She hurled one of the leaks at the boy's retreating back, eyes blazing. It slapped against him with a crash. He whirled back around, and started back the way he had come.

"Are you looking for a fight, Welsh Girl?" He demanded. Maddy let out another raging growl and hurled herself at the boy, knocking him to the ground with the full force of her weight.

* * *

"What the heck is going on down there?" Tom asked, frowning, as he pointed down the corridor, where a large crowd was gathered, shouting and screaming as they gathered around something.

"Check it out!" Liam yelled, gesturing to the crowd. "The new girl in our form is trying to beat the life outta Jimi! It's hilarious!"

Rhydian took off in a run at those words, muttering to himself. "Oh, no, no, no, no, no..."

He reached the scene of the fight, just in time to see Maddy claw at Jimi's cheek with her right hand. Everyone else, apart from Rhydian, was too caught up in the fight to notice the black veins that were crawling down Maddy's hand...If he didn't do something, it wouldn't be Maddy Smith fighting Jimi anymore.

"WHAT ON EARTH IS GOING ON HERE?!" Mr Jeffries' voice cut across the excitement, and Rhydian saw his chance. He pulled the rabid-looking Maddy off Jimi, and bundled her towards the Dark Room, where the photography club (namely himself, Shannon and Tom) met at lunch times and after school. Shoving her inside, he locked the door behind them, as Maddy hurled herself around the room, unsure of what to do now. Here she was, trapped in a confined space, about to morph into a giant dog...She had experienced better first days at new schools.

She whirled around to face Rhydian. "You have to get out!"

"Maddy." He spoke firmly. "You have to calm down -"

"NO!" The scream was ripped from her throat, as she stumbled backwards into some shelves, knocking the content to the ground. "YOU HAVE TO GET OUT NOW! IT'S NOT SAFE!" She toppled over backwards, landing with a thump on the cold floor.

"Maddy?" Rhydian shifted closer, but was cut off when Maddy started shrieking.

Until, suddenly, there was no Maddy Smith.

In her place, was a small, skinny wolf with dark fur and wild golden eyes that were fixed on Rhydian, who was frozen into place by the door, trying to plan out ways to calm the agitated wolf down.

Ever so slowly, he lowered himself down to the ground, as his eyes shifted colour, merging from their usual bright blue colour to the same bright golden colour that matched Maddy's. The wolf let out a yelp of surprise, before copying his actions, sitting on the floor. Eventually, she seemed to have calmed down enough, as, suddenly, Rhydian was staring at her heart shaped face and hazel eyes. Her cheeks were flushed, and her eyes danced.

"You are!" She cried leaping up from the floor, almost tripping over her own feet again. "I mean, I noticed that you smelled different, but, when your eyes changed, I got it! You're like me!"

"I'm not like you!" Rhydian snapped, cutting off her hopeful expression. "I don't just transform whenever I feel like it, or start fights, or invade other people's territories! You're a danger to us all, and as soon as you leave, the better!"


	3. Lone Wolf - Part Three

"Come on, Rhydian!" Mr Jeffries scolded, as the boy walked into his form room. "Where have you been all this time?"

"Nowhere," Rhydian replied, his eyes swivelling to the seat at the back of the room. Maddy Smith was nowhere to be seen. A sigh escaped him; for some reason, guilt was filling him at the sight of her empty seat.

_Stop it, _he told himself fiercely. _She was on your territory. She had to go._

"Rhydian!" Mr Jeffries snapped him out of his thoughts. "Are you just going to stand there all day looking gormless?" A peel of laughter rippled through the room. "Sit down!"

Rhydian shuffled to his usual place beside Tom, and slumped down in his seat. Shannon leaned over and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Hey!" She hissed. "What happened?"

"What do you mean?"

"Maddy Smith walked out of school," Shannon informed him. "She was nearly in tears. I asked her what was wrong, and all I could pick up from her was that you were involved somehow."

"She was...upset?" Rhydian faulted, his anger towards the new girl wavering.

"Yeah. Like, all red eyed and flushed." Shannon was frowning. "What went on between you two?"

"Nothing!" Rhydian protested. "I just...I had to talk to her about something important. That's all."

"Well, whatever it was, she didn't seem to like it." A teasing smirk flittered across Shannon's face. "Lover's tiff, eh?"

"I am not in love with her!" Rhydian snapped, a little too loudly.

"Is there something you would like to share with the rest of us, Mr Morris?"

"No, sir." Rhydian let out another sigh, trying to ignore the guilt that was clawing its way into his chest.

* * *

Maddy slowed to a walk as she reached the gravel drive of the Chase household, trying to stop the fat drops of moisture rolling down her face. Clenching her fist, she scrubbed her tears away, and stormed towards the front door, throwing it open, so that it banged against the living room wall.

"Oi!" Came the shout from the other side of the room. "Shut up, I'm trying to watch Countdown!"

Thomas Chase sat on the sofa, a beer can in one hand and the remote in the other. He was a short, plump, balding man in his early forties, and Maddy despised him a little bit more every time she saw him.

"I'm not going back to that school," she began angrily. "You can't make me -!"

"SHUT UP!" He yelled, cutting her off. "Can't you see the bloody telly's on?!"

Maddy glared at him, before starting to speak again. "I'm just going to go down to the cellar and get drunk, alright?"

"Whatever. Like I give a goddamn what you do."

Cursing vividly under her breath, Maddy made for the short flight of stairs that led up to the room that had been deemed hers for the duration of her time in Stoneybridge. Slamming her bedroom door - and earning herself another shout from Thomas Chase - Maddy went straight to the suitcase that was open on top of her chest of drawers.

_As soon as you leave, the better..._

"You want me to leave, Rhydian Morris? Oh, believe me, I'm gone."

* * *

Shannon, Rhydian and Tom walked to Bernie's Cafe after school, chatting amongst themselves. Bernie's was the number one hangout in Stoneybridge - in fact, it was the only one. Well, the only one that served decent food, anyway.

"Jeffries has no right to close down the photography club!" Shannon said firmly. "Which is why we're taking action!"

"Are we?" Rhydian asked, looking confused.

"Rhydian, if you had been listening to me over lunch, instead of fantasising about Maddy Smith, you would have heard me saying that we're tagging along to the Year Seven's badger trip. If we give out cameras, we're bound to get three new members and save our club! See? Full proof."

"I was not fantasising about Maddy Smith!" Rhydian replied, but he knew that he was lying. Every time Maddy Smith came into his head, he could never think straight. It was as if she had some weird control over his mind.

"RHYDIAN?!"

"Sorry! What were you saying?" Rhydian turned his attention to Tom, mentally scolding himself.

"Are you sure you won't re-join the football team?"

"After the fuss that Jimi made over it last time? No, thanks, I can't take the ear ache. Besides..." A teasing smirk crossed Rhydian's face. "Jimi would blow a blood vessel and he's fragile enough as it is."

"Fragile is right," Shannon said, as they took their usual seats.

"Er, Shan, everyone knows that you have a crush on Jimi. There's no point covering it up," Rhydian teased, getting her back for her earlier jokes.

"That is not true!" Shannon yelped. "Are you just trying to cover up your crush on the new girl?"

"Rhydian fancies the new girl?!"

_Oh, great._ Rhydian turned to face the blonde behind him.

"Hello, Katrina," he said grimly.

"But...but...we had such a great connection!" Katrina wailed.

"Did we?"

"It seems you did, mate." Tom clapped him on the back.

"Why her?" Katrina pouted. "What's so great about Maddy Smith?"

"Oh, you mean the Chases' new foster kid?" It was Bernie, bringing them over their usual orders. Rhydian barely glanced at the food.

"Maddy's in foster care?" He asked slowly.

"Aye," Bernie replied. "Poor kid. However bad she must have been to be moved down here for a fresh start, there was no need to stick her with the Chases. They aren't exactly the most loving foster family in the world." The man shook his head. "Only ones that would take her though."

_Oh, no. Oh, no, no, no, no, no..._

Shannon looked at her friend in concern. "Rhydian?"

"I have to go," he said suddenly, leaping up from his chair. "You tag along with the badger trip, and I'll meet you in the woods."

"Where are you going?" Shannon called to his retreating form.

"To find Maddy!"

Katrina stomped her foot. "Not fair!"

* * *

"Maddy!"

Maddy hitched her rucksack to the centre of her back, as she marched up the country road, trying to ignore the voice behind her.

"MADDY!"

"Don't worry, Rhydian, I'm outta here!"

"Maddy, WAIT!" Rhydian caught up with her, matching her pace exactly. "I know, okay?"

"Know what?" She demanded.

"I know about the Chases!" Rhydian grabbed her shoulder, forcing her to stop. "I know about you being in foster care."

Maddy glared at him. "So, that's what this is, is it? You're here to gloat about being one of the lucky ones with a family?"

"No!" Rhydian protested.

"Huh! Sure! You know, you may be like me, Morris, but you think the same as everyone else! All the rest of them, trying to "make me better" with counselling, for god's sake! Well, guess what? Reality check, Rhydian. What I turn into, that IS better! That's better than anything else I've ever known!"

"I'm not trying to do anything like that, Maddy. I just...want to help."

"You?! Want to help me?!" Maddy yelled. "Fine. You want to help me so badly? Chase me, then! Beg me to stay! But, oh!" Her voice had a mocking edge to it. "You can't, can you? Because no one knows your little secret, do they?"

"Uh..."

Thought not," Maddy snapped. "See, that's the difference between you and me, Rhydian. I've got nothing to lose here. So, stay out of it!" She took off into a run, breaking free of Rhydian's grasp.

Sprinting up the country lane, she quickly glanced back over her shoulder. Realising that she was alone, she sighed in relief, turning back, only to find her gaze meeting a pair of blue eyes.

"You followed me!" She snapped, accusingly.

"I told you, Maddy. I want to help you."

"WHY?!" The word was ripped from her throat.

"Because I want to."

"That's not good enough!" Maddy glared at him. "People never just "want to". There's always an ulterior motive, always!"

"Not this time -!"

Maddy took off again before Rhydian could finish, leaping over the wooden gate that led into the woods. A gentle thud from behind her let her know that he was following her. Jeez, what would it take for him to leave her alone?!

_**A.N: Sorry for not updating! Don't worry – the romance will be here soon. Remember, at the moment, all Rhydian is to Maddy at the moment is a selfish, arrogant jerk. Don't worry, that'll soon change. Also, how sad was the final this week?! Who else sobbed?!**_


	4. Lone Wolf: Part Four

"OOF!"

Maddy stumbled along the uneven path, the light breeze ruffling the untidy strands of her hair. A quick, hasty glance behind her told her that Rhydian hadn't come this way. Sighing, she leant against a tree to catch her breath and rest her feet. Of course, she knew better than to stop for a long amount of time. Rhydian may be naive, but he wasn't stupid; he could find her in no time. All she had to do was make it to the nearest town, a few miles west of the Stoneybridge moors. That shouldn't be too hard. Well, for someone like her, anyway.

_Come on,_ she told herself fiercely. _Keep moving_. Letting out a soft groan at the aching in the soles of her feet, she started off on foot again, trying her best not to stumble over the tangled net of roots that grew at ground level. Weren't people like her meant to be agile all the time?

* * *

Rhydian slowed to a stop by a large oak, panting, exhausted. Dammit, he never thought that finding Maddy Smith would be this hard!

"C'mon, Maddy," Rhydian muttered to himself. "Where are you hiding?"

* * *

Every step that Maddy took hurt more than the previous one.

She trudged along the muddy terrain, her legs struggling to hold her up. Internally, she cursed herself for being so weak.

_I bet Rhydian doesn't have this problem,_ a voice whispered in her voice. _Freak. Loser._

"Shut up!" She yelled aloud, reaching up to cover her ears, as if to block out the voice that slithered through her mind. "Shut up, shut up, shut UP!"

The last word was screeched, frightening a small colony of birds. They fluttered from the branches of the nearest tree, causing Maddy to leap out of her skin, and twist her ankle, dropping to the ground with a yelp. This time, she stayed on the ground, pulling herself up on her elbows, until she managed to get into a position where she was leaning against the tree. Resting her head against the rough tree bark, her eyes started to droop closed. She wanted to go to sleep and never wake up, never have to face all these problems that the real world had thrown at her during her short life. Her parents' deaths...foster care...The Chases...Rhydian...

"Maddy!"

Groaning, she cracked open an eyelid. Rhydian's concerned face was in front of her, and she let out another noise of frustration, closing her eyes again.

"What do you want, Rhydian?" She mumbled. "I'm just having a rest before I'll be on my way."

"I don't want you to."

An eye opened again. "Huh?"

"I don't want you to leave," Rhydian repeated clearly, offering her a hand to help her up.

"And, why is that?"

"I told you. I want to help. But, you won't listen to me." He seemed frustrated. Maddy's eyes opened fully, narrowing at Rhydian.

"Well, Rhydian, if it's this much effort and time, why don't you just NOT bother?"

She leapt up, despite the protest of her feet, and took off at a run again, pushing herself to move as fast as she could with her legs, which were feeling like two heavy weights that she was dragging around.

Suddenly, a strong pair of arms locked around her, knocking her to the floor. Maddy shrieked, as both Rhydian and she tumbled to the ground in a heap.

"Whoa!" Rhydian glanced up at her face above him. "Sorry, sorry!"

Maddy flushed a brilliant red colour, trying to struggle up from the ground (and Rhydian).

"You idiot!" She snapped, aiming a weak kick at Rhydian's legs, just as the single sound of a shutter going off filled the silence. Both teenagers turned slowly, to see the entire Badger Club staring back, accompanied by Tom and another girl Maddy vaguely recognised from the corridors of Bradlington High.

"You IDIOT!" Maddy hissed to Rhydian again.

"Sorry," he whispered back, looking mortified, as Maddy fought to get away from him.

"So..." She managed to get to her feet. "Seen any badgers yet?"

"No!" Miss Graham snapped, glaring at the pair. "Thanks to you two, you've probably scared them all away!" She turned to the others. "Come on, you lot, we'll have to come back another day."

"Wait, wait!" The girl was yelling, as the younger students packed up. "Join the photography club! PLEEEEEAAAAAASSSSEEEE?!"

When no one listened, she whirled around to face Rhydian.

"What are you doing, Rhydian? We were so close getting new members to save our club!"

"I had something important to sort out," Rhydian said. "Stop stressing, Shannon."

"What, it was more important than the photography club?" Shannon asked, sending a sideways glance at Maddy.

"Yeah!" Rhydian said firmly. "Maddy is more important!"

"Really?" Maddy stared at him. She also saw Shannon grit her teeth out of the corner of her eye.

_Guess she's got a few unresolved...issues there, then, _Maddy thought, as Rhydian continued to lie fluently.

"Turns out, Maddy and I are cousins. She's the black sheep of the family, and I didn't want her here, so I treated her badly, which was wrong of me. So, I came up here to sort it all out. Look, you guys don't have to be the best of friends, but, she's part of my life now." Maddy felt heat rushing up her face, and then scolded herself.

_Anyone would think you liked him, Maddy._

"Oh." Shannon's face brightened. "You're cousins? Alright, then." Maddy gritted her teeth at Shannon's expression, before forcing herself to relax.

"You guys wanna come back to mine?" Tom asked. "Mum's left out pizza and chips for us."

"Sure," Rhydian said. "We'll catch you up. We've just got...cousin-y things to discuss..."

"Fair enough." Tom linked arms with Shannon. "See you two later."

* * *

"So...are your parents like...like us, then?" Maddy asked.

"Yep," Rhydian replied. "Well, my mum is. And, by the way, it's Wolfblood, Maddy."

"Wolf - what?"

"Wolfblood. Not Werewolf."

"Same thing," the girl argued. Rhydian chuckled.

"No, it's really not. People like us aren't monsters."

"Huh!" Maddy snorted, raising her eyebrow at Rhydian.

"Don't believe me, do you?"

"Nope." She made a popping sound on the P. "Y'know, weird thing is...I don't remember, like, being bitten. I think I must have been really young, because I've always been like this. I think it was my parents. You know, passing on the genes, before they..." She tailed off, unable to finish.

"Bitten?" Now, it was Rhydian's turn to scoff. "You don't get bitten!"

"Don't laugh at me!" Maddy snapped, looking hurt. He noticed, and hastily backtracked, not wanting to upset her by dwelling on the subject of her parents. He could see on her face how hard it was to remember them.

"Sorry, sorry! It's just...there's so much you need to learn."

"Oh, yeah? Like what?"

"You were born this way. You're NORMAL." Maddy looked disbelieved, so he continued. "Take a look around you, Maddy. Go on." He watched her survey the woodland scene in front of her. "Everything you thought made you a freak...sight...hearing...speed...sense of smell...They're all completely normal for a Wolfblood, Mads."

"Mads?" Maddy raised her eyebrows.

"I like it, don't you?" Rhydian asked. "It's sweet."

"Me? Sweet?"

"Well...yeah," Rhydian mumbled, cheeks going red. Maddy smirked, before starting to speak again.

"So...say, I did stick around? Only for a bit, no promises...I don't do promises."

"You'd have a pack at last. People to teach you things -"

"Oh, no, no, no," Maddy interrupted. "No rules, no lectures...You can keep your group hugs and your big furry family. I do things MY way."

"Lone wolf, huh?" Rhydian grinned. "So, what happens next time? When you lose control of your wolf-self in front of the entire school?"

"Well..." Maddy flashed him a grin. "That'll be an interesting day, won't it?"

* * *

_**A.N: I have been a very bad author, I know, for not updating. But, as usual, thanks to everyone that reads/favourites/follows/reviews this story. I love hearing from all of you, it seriously makes my day and puts such a smile on my face :) Hope you like this chapter – I've tried to put a bit of Maddian in it (because, come on, who doesn't love Maddian?!) but not so much that it's unrealistic. I'm hoping that I've got it right, but tell me if you want me to tone it down a bit. There will be a lot of Maddian coming, because I'm such a sucker for romance!**_


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